Niels Blokland

Niels Blokland litigates complex commercial and corporate disputes across the Dutch Caribbean, the Netherlands and Suriname. Admitted to practice as advocaat in both jurisdictions, he works between Curaçao and Amsterdam, and has been part of VANEPS since 2021.

His clients range from multinational corporations to regional businesses. His work covers, among others, shareholder and corporate disputes, directors’ liability, insurance claims, the levying and lifting of attachments, and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards. Before joining VANEPS, he built his foundation in litigation, insurance and liability law at Nysingh advocaten-notarissen in the Netherlands.

Work highlights include:

• Part of the core litigation team that successfully reversed a USD 550 million verdict on appeal in the largest directors’ liability case in the Dutch Caribbean ever;
• Representation of a logistics company in multimillion-dollar arbitration proceedings regarding a port development project before the Suriname Arbitration Institute (SAI) in Paramaribo;
• Representation of a regional bank in successfully defending enforcement proceedings relating to a NAfl 12 million mortgage right over a hotel in St. Maarten, including the levying and execution of attachments;
• Representation of a director-shareholder in a high-value corporate dispute on the BES-islands, resulting in the suspension and departure of the co-director;
• Advising and representing multiple international online gaming operators in player claims and commercial disputes involving operators, management companies and service providers.

Related activities

Beyond his practice, Niels is a former board member of the Antilliaanse Juristenvereniging (AJV) and has taught International Private Law and Civil Law at the University of Curaçao.

Niels obtained his LL.B. (hons.) from Utrecht Law College and his LL.M. in civil law from Leiden University. His master’s thesis on liability for loss of a chance in a medical context won the JBL&G thesis prize in 2017 and was published by Celsus Juridische Uitgeverij in 2019.

Netherlands Bar Registry

Niels has registered Civil Procedural Law as his principal legal practice area in the Netherlands Bar’s register of legal practice areas (rechtsgebiedenregister). He is required to obtain twenty training credits per calendar year in accordance with the standards set by the Netherlands Bar Association.